Coastal areas affected by rising seas are subject to regional variations in sea level, as well as the global mean rise. In fact, local effects that occur over decades, rather than centuries, can be several times larger than the global one. Nieves et al. provide a tool to help coastal planners estimate the magnitudes of these regional sea level variations. They show that upper ocean temperature is a key indicator of changes in short-term sea level rise over large coastal regions of the United States. This information should enable more informed adaptation over time scales relevant to decision-makers.
J. Clim. 10.1175/JCLI-D-16-0896.1 (2017).
